I have delinquent debts, how can I get it squared away for a TS clearance?

Heya, planning on applying for the army and the MOS I’m interested in requires TS. However, I have ~6.3k of credit card debt that I haven’t paid the minimums for for the past two months. I’ve heard this is a big red flag and could be a cause for my TS clearance being denied.

The reason I haven’t paid is because I’ve been unable to get a job, which is also why I’m wanting to enlist, but I’ve applied to many places with no luck and simply don’t have the funds to pay it right now. With that in mind, how should I handle this to ensure I can get TS? Should I postpone enlisting? Of course, the issue is if I do that there’s no further guarantee I’ll find a job to help pay it down if I do postpone enlisting.

Yes, financial concerns continue to be one of the top reasons for security clearance denial.

When you go on active duty, your salary will not be that much, but your expenses will be almost nil, so you should be able to make some payments. I don’t know the timing of such things but you might be able to start making payments before you have a meeting with the investigator and you will have some good history by then.

The question is if they would let you go to basic before the clearance completes. Used to be you could go to basic but could not go to your MOS school until the clearance was granted.

Keep in mind that the recruiter just wants to get someone to sign on the dotted line and may not always have your best interests in mind :roll_eyes: so see if you can get additional updated info from an independent source.

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I would submit in writing to the credit agencies your situation. Pay what you can from savings, possibly work out a payment plan. If a job comes along, take it. Even minimum wage. Make regular payments, keep records. Present all of this to investigator.